Sara Zaniboni

A lifespan perspective on job design: Fitting the job and the worker to promote job satisfaction, engagement, and performance

The workforce in most industrialized countries is aging. However, the role of age in job design has largely been ignored. In the present paper, we apply lifespan development perspectives to the interaction between job characteristics and age. Specifically, we examine the possible joint effects of age and job characteristics on job satisfaction, engagement, and performance, developing a series of propositions to guide future research. We also discuss possible boundary conditions, mediating mechanisms, and future research challenges.

Differential effects of task variety and skill variety on burnout and turnover intentions for older and younger workers

The purpose of the present studies was to compare the effects of two job characteristics, task variety and skill variety, on the burnout and turnover intentions of older and younger workers. Based on socioemotional selectivity theory and selective optimization with compensation theory, we hypothesized that task variety would lead to more positive outcomes for younger workers, whereas skill variety would lead to more positive outcomes for older workers. Across two samples using time-lagged designs, we found that increased task variety led to less work-related burnout and turnover intentions for younger workers compared to older workers. On the other hand, increased skill variety led to lower turnover intentions for older workers than for younger workers. We discuss the implications for lifespan ageing theories and for organizational practices regarding older and younger workers.

How are psychosocial factors related to retirement intentions

Purpose - This study aims to explore the psycho-social factors (i.e. older worker identity, development opportunities on the job, anticipation of lost social integration upon retirement) related to three types of retirement intention (i.e. full retirement, part-time retirement, job mobility). Design/methodology/approach - A representative sample of 196 workers aged 50 and over employed in an Italian public-sector organization completed a research questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested by using structural equation models. Findings - The results showed that: the older-worker identity was related positively to full retirement intention and negatively to job mobility; development opportunity on the job was negatively related to the full retirement intention; the anticipation of lost social integration upon retirement was positively related to the intention to take part-time retirement and job mobility. Research limitations/implications - There are several limitations to the study: the cross-sectional design; use of single items; the fact that the findings can be generalized only to the organization in which the study was conducted. Practical implications - Retirement preparation programs should consider the various factors that affect the transition from work to retirement and which may facilitate prior planning by both the individual and the organization. Originality/value - Expanding previous research studies, the study considers the complexity of preparation for retirement transition by exploring different types of retirement intentions and the psychosocial factors related to them.

Who benefits from more tasks? Older versus younger workers

Purpose – Although a substantial body of research has examined the effects of job characteristics on job attitudes, there is a paucity of work on individual difference moderators of these relationships. Based in selective optimization with compensation theory and socio-emotional selectivity theory, the purpose of this paper is to show that age moderated the relationship between task variety and two key job attitudes, job satisfaction and engagement. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through self-report questionnaires (n=152), using a time-lagged design with two waves (two to three weeks between T 1 and T 2). Findings – The authors found that task variety had a stronger relationship with job satisfaction and work engagement for younger workers compared to older workers. Research limitations/implications – Although there was good age variance in the sample, it had fewer late-career workers and more workers who are in their early and mid-career. Practical implications – To have workers of all...

Individual and environmental factors related to job satisfaction in people with severe mental illness employed in social enterprises

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to enhance understanding of the impact of individual and environmental variables on job satisfaction among people with severe mental illness employed in social enterprises. PARTICIPANTS A total of 248 individuals with severe mental illness employed by social enterprises agreed to take part in the study. METHODS We used logistic regression to analyse job satisfaction. A model with job satisfaction as the dependent variable, and both individual (occupational self-efficacy and severity of symptoms perceived) and environmental (workplace) factors (provision of workplace accommodations, social support from co-workers, organizational constraints) as well as external factors (family support) as predictors, was tested on the entire sample. RESULTS All findings across the study suggest a significant positive impact of both individual and environmental factors on job satisfaction. People with higher occupational self-efficacy who were provided with workplace accommodations and received greater social support were more likely to experience greater job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that certain features of social enterprises, such as workplace accommodations, are important in promoting job satisfaction in people with severe mental illness. Further studies are warranted to expand knowledge of the workplace features that support employees with severe mental illness in their work integration process.

Training Valence, Instrumentality, and Expectancy Scale (T-VIES-it): Factor Structure and Nomological Network in an Italian Sample.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to validate, in an Italian sample, a multidimensional training motivation measure (T‐VIES‐it) based on expectancy (VIE) theory, and to examine the nomological network surrounding the construct.Design/methodology/approach – Using a cross‐sectional design study, 258 public sector employees in Northeast Italy (participating in a range of employer‐sponsored training programs) filled out the T‐VIES‐it and questionnaires on goal orientation, job support for learning, and intention to transfer learning gained through training to the workplace. To validate the T‐VIES‐it and test its nomological network confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations models were used.Findings – Results showed acceptable confirmatory factor analysis fit indices and psychometric properties of the T‐VIES‐it. Acceptable fit indexes were also found for the structural equations models tested. The modified model showed significant relations between learning goal orientation and the three dimen...

Evaluation of the fear-avoidance model with health care workers experiencing acute/subacute pain.

Summary The fear‐avoidance model required adjustments for people experiencing acute/subacute pain where fear avoidance beliefs and depressive symptoms were influenced simultaneously rather than sequentially. ABSTRACT Studies in the literature do not show clear evidence supporting the relationship between pain and depressive symptoms in individuals experiencing acute/subacute pain compared to those experiencing chronic pain. However, more information is needed about which variables act as mediators in the pain‐depression relationship in people having acute/subacute pain, before pain becomes chronic. Our objectives were to test the suitability of the fear‐avoidance model in a sample of 110 health care workers experiencing acute/subacute pain using path analyses, to improve the model as needed, and to examine a model involving both pain catastrophizing and pain self‐efficacy with work status as a final outcome. Overall, the results indicated that adjustments to the fear‐avoidance model were required for people experiencing acute/subacute pain, in which fear‐avoidance beliefs and depressive symptoms were concurrent rather than sequential. The catastrophizing concept was most closely associated with depressive symptoms, while pain self‐efficacy was directly associated with fear‐avoidance beliefs and indirectly to work outcomes. Assessing and modifying pain self‐efficacy in acute/subacute pain patients is important for interventions aiming to decrease fear‐avoidance and improve work outcomes.

Working plans of people with mental disorders employed in Italian social enterprises.

OBJECTIVE Social Enterprises (SEn) are innovative companies that help disadvantaged people (e.g., individuals with mental disorders) with the work integration process. This study explores the working plan patterns of people with mental disorders employed in SEn. METHODS A cross-sectional design was adopted. One hundred and forty individuals with mental disorders employed in 19 Italian SEn filled out a battery of questionnaires. RESULTS We identified three patterns of working plans: Cluster 1 (n = 39, 30%) showed a stronger intention to work in a competitive labor market; Cluster 2 (n = 16, 12.3%) showed a stronger intention to stop working; Cluster 3 (n = 75, 57.7%) showed a stronger intention to continue working at a SEn. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Most of the sample had a pattern of intentions to keep working, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of the SEn approach to work integration. Future studies should explore the approach further. Indeed, these results seem important for implications for practice, suggesting that people with mental disorders inside SEn can improve their level of interpersonal skills and reinforce their vocational identity, and ultimately increase their chances of employment in the regular labor market.

The relation between overcommitment and burnout: does it depend on employee job satisfaction?

Using the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory as a framework, we hypothesized a maladaptive role played by overcommitment in the escalation of burnout. We further specified our model by testing an interaction effect of job satisfaction. By using a longitudinal design, we proposed a moderated mediational model in which burnout at Time 1 (T1) increases overcommitment, which in turn leads to more burnout one month later. We further expected to find a moderating role of job satisfaction in the link between overcommitment and burnout at Time 2 (T2). A group of 86 white-collar workers in personnel services in Italy (longitudinal response rate = 77.48%) participated in our study. The findings supported our hypotheses even when controlling for gender and role stressors. In particular, by using bootstrapping procedures to test mediation, we found evidence that employees reporting burnout tend to develop a maladaptive coping style, i.e., overcommitment, which in turn increases burnout over time. This relation was particularly strong for dissatisfied employees. These results highlight the importance of overcommitment for burnout escalation, as well as of job satisfaction, since it may mitigate, at least in the short term, the effect of such dysfunctional strategies.

Organizational socialization of women in the Italian Army: Learning processes and proactive tactics

Purpose – This study aims to examine the organizational socialization of women soldiers in the Italian Army.Design/methodology/approach – Following an interactionist interpretation of socialization, a model was tested to determine the influence of organizational socialization tactics, proactive behaviours, supervisor support on organizational identification, and cohesion of teamwork. This study used a comparative research design. The sample consisted of 324 soldiers, 43 per cent of whom are men and 57 per cent per cent are women.Findings – Structural equation models showed the influences exerted by general socialization and by the acquisition of organizational values/goals on the outcomes of socialization. Multisample analysis showed gender differences. Compared to men, women seemed to set greater value on tutoring by expert colleagues. Women also seemed to value the support provided by their superiors for learning the organizational values and goals on which the degree of identification with the military...